People who live with migraine headaches show a "riskier" profile for cardiovascular disease than those without migraines, according to a new study published in the February 22 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the <<>>.
The large population-based study was conducted among 5,755 participants in the Netherlands. Researchers identified 620 people with migraine in the group from 5,135 people without migraine.
The study provided a cardiovascular risk profile of those with migraine attacks and those who suffer from migraine with aura (a visual or other hallucination that precedes a migraine). One third of those with migraines experienced aura symptoms before a headache occurred.
"For reasons that are not yet clear, people with migraine--particularly those with aura--may be more likely to present with risk factors associated with cardiovascular conditions," said lead author Ann Scher, PhD, of Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and the National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Md. "It is known that migraine with aura increases the risk of stroke before the age of 45, although the reason for this is not yet clear. Understanding the role of classic risk factors for cardiovascular disease in migraine sufferers might help to understand why people with migraine with aura are at increased risk for early-onset stroke."